Search - The Prime Gig on DVD

Michel D. (michelann) from WALNUT GROVE, MO
Reviewed on 6/25/2018...

Not exactly one of those jobs most folks are proud to add to their resume, telemarketing is one that many of us have tried in the past and can relate to with this film about the pressure and stress filled days looking for that Prime Gig that actually puts food on the table or pays the rent. Vince Vaughn is amazing in the lead role of Pendelton Wise who goes by Penny Wise, always selling, never giving up! Ed Harris portrays a slick con artist who runs a sweat shop style telemarketing scam to sell gold futures. Excellent film but you might be disappointed with the ending (as was I).

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Earns the rite to find itself in Walmart's bargain film bin.

Joel Munyon | Joliet, Illinois - the poohole of America. | 04/22/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I almost cared about this movie. Almost. I mean, you can't go wrong with Vince Vaughn and Ed Harris, right?

Wrong.

The Prime Gig offers slices of entertainment that keep you modestly plugged into the movie, but ultimately, those slices are not enough to suffice. Characters come and go without us caring, and the main characters look as bored as we do. Vaughn plays a conman who goes to work for a master con-artist and ultimately meets his match. There's some attempts to make us care along the way, and some dialogue that tries to assert itself, but at the end of the day, we still don't care and strike 'The Prime Gig' from the first cut at the "Could Have Been a Cool Movie" tryouts."

This Con's on You

Mike Brecher | London & New York | 05/22/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"There are certainly worse ways to spend 93 minutes -- just check out your local multiplex. Shellgames are never boring, and the ensemble cast is great (as they nearly always tend to be, in con movies). But, as others have pointed out, this one has more holes in it than a shower head. Shares in a gold mine? Pur-lease! Where is any telemarketer supposed to find marks dumb enough to buy those? Why would any telemarketer worth his salt waste his time trying? And, given that the Vince Vaughan character makes it quite clear he's only marrying the girl to help her get a green card (and therefore presumably wouldn't have dreamed of putting his money in a joint account and giving her sole signature over it), what bank would be inept enough to let her clean out his account just because she could show she was his wife?"

An adrenaline packed, emotionally charged story about sales

Pork Chop | Lisbon, Portugal | 02/02/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"THE PRIME GIG, showcasing the acting talent of veteran
actors Vince Vaughn, the lovely Julia Ormond, and the
charismatic, head honcho Ed Harris, is more than just a
professionally made movie. It's an adrenaline packed,
emotionally charged story that carries viewers, on a
unique experience or rollercoaster over more than 90 mins.

Vaughn reprises, in part, an aspect of his humanity,
similar to to one seen inthe other movie LOCUST, (in which
he interacted with a disabled character called FLYBOY ).
He thereby demonstrates his psychological need to come to
the assistance of his disabled friend who, as said, has
difficulty suceeding in life and supporting himself,as a
brother's keeper. This clearly lends credibility to his
role, by making Penny multi-dimensional, not only a
workoholic salesman.

Viewers are treated to a perfect synchronicity between
real situations and the soundtrack, not unlike was the
case elsewhere in BoilerRoom, (that also had a great
soundtrack accompanying the story.) This clearly opens up
the sheer humanity of the sales persons, who must focus on
reaping their commissions surrounding a gold mining stock
promotion in a boiler room in an undisclosed secret
location, to regulatory authorities. This contrasts, in
other words, with the stereotype of sales as a job, often
seen as dehumanizing to those who participate in it, from
the pressure in meeting the sales numbers, on time, and in
full.

Regarding the selling aspect, PRIME GIG is actually pretty
realistic, showing there's more than one way to skin a
cat, meaning, different sales people approach sales
prospects with different techniques, although they share a
common objective, "to kill, or fill" the sales propspect.
We see a couple of CD's containing "leads", headsets,
dialers, a high pressure environment, a sales board,
competition between reps for the most number of sales,
commission bonuses, euphoria, depression, the illusion of
reps chasing a rainbow, in the job they accepted, as did
the prospects by accepting some sales for some products,
that even the salespeople didn't know was a con.

The movie has a dramatic, quick ending, bringing to light
another scourge of modern society, the mortgage fraud.

Clearly, viewers won't be able to say enough about the
acting skills of Vaughn, Ed Harris, and Ormond as their
intensity on screen, is simply unbeatable.
"